


Stone Faces One Way

by ImogenSmiley



Series: Reigisa [3]
Category: Free!
Genre: Acceptance, Accepting Rei Ryugazaki, Comfort, Coming Out, Crushes, Established Friendship, Falling In Love, First Love, Implied pansexual Rei Ryugazaki, M/M, Nagisa comes out blatantly while Rei is much more subtle, One-sided crushing, Past Hazuki Nagisa/ Matsuoka Rin - Freeform, Pining, Writemas, childhood crush, writemas 2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-03
Updated: 2019-12-03
Packaged: 2021-02-18 12:09:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21660589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImogenSmiley/pseuds/ImogenSmiley
Summary: Nagisa wasn’t sure what pushed him to do it, maybe it was anticipation, maybe fear. Maybe he’d wasted too many hours watching romance movies with his sisters again. Maybe he was just desperate, yearning to know that the object of his affections wouldn’t be disgusted.He didn’t know if he’d reciprocate. But he’d be fine to have Rei as a friend, whether or not he shared his feelings.
Relationships: Hazuki Nagisa & Ryuugazaki Rei, Hazuki Nagisa/Ryuugazaki Rei, Mentioned Hazuki Nagisa/ Matsuoka Rin, Past Hazuki Nagisa/ Matsuoka Rin
Series: Reigisa [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1531475
Kudos: 16





	Stone Faces One Way

It had been a long, gruelling practice, predominantly exchanges, and drills. Nagisa was exhausted, and desperate for a nap. His stomach was bubbling up as he walked in step with his best friend, and classmate. A lot had changed between them over the first two months of High School. It was strange, how people just click. Nagisa had never expected his desperation to find a fourth member that shared a trait with him and his friends, to lead him to someone as perfect as Rei-chan.

There was nothing to him that mattered more than being by his side. Even the silences between conversations were as comfortable and easy as breathing. He didn’t understand how he had managed to find someone like him. He was perfect, he really was.

Which meant he had to know.

Haru-chan and Mako-chan had known for as long as Nagisa had, he’d had no hesitation in declaring to his friends that he had a crush on Rin-chan back when. He didn’t see fault in it, issue with it, and had managed to even hold Rin’s hand before he left for Australia. Little Nagisa classed him as his first love.

Nagisa knew that it wasn’t love. Seeing Rin-chan never made his heart leap into his throat, like it did with Rei-chan. But even after all those years, seeing the redhead did stir something in him; nostalgia, yearning and butterflies. Before he knew Rei, he’d wondered whether he could possibly ever win Rin back. But realised that, maybe, first crushes weren’t meant to last the tests of time.

This was different. He’d liked many boys in passing at school, but never felt the need to tell people, it wasn’t like Rin-chan and boys were mean, rude and callous. He’d been fished out of a few too many playground scraps when playing kiss-chase at elementary school or saying that he had a boyfriend who lived across the seas with the kangaroos when he was in the playground. His sisters had always brushed him off and explained that not everyone was as mellow as Haru-chan, Mako-chan and Rin-chan. Some people needed a good old smack on the upside of the head by Life. Sometimes he just had to wait for Life to do the dirty work, and take care of himself in the meantime.

But Rei-chan wasn’t like the other boys he’d liked. Sure he and Rin-chan both swam butterfly but Rin-chan swam free as well and Rei-chan wasn’t able to do that. Sure they were both tall with good hair, but that didn’t make them the same. No, Rei-chan was artistic: he was colourful and dramatic. He had poise and eloquence Nagisa couldn’t yet achieve and he had the most charming laugh.

Nagisa had it bad. And it wasn’t like he eeded to talk to Rei-chan it. Though, there was no way he was going to confess. For the moment, he was happy in the sameness, in the routine.

“Rei-chan, can we talk?” Nagisa had asked.

“Sure, of course we can talk. Why wouldn’t we be able to?”

“I wanted to tell you something, something important.”

Rei tilted his head to the side by a centimetre, his violet eyes twinkling, “Okay, no problem.”

Nagisa nodded. He shook his head and limbered up, swinging his arms backward and forward. He took a loud, deep breath and turned to face Rei. The taller boy gazed at him inquisitively, his bows furrowed slightly as he took him in.

Warmth flooded through Nagisa as he took a second, deep breath and said, “I like boys.”

Rei blinked, his lips parting so his teeth were visible, “Oh, okay. And?”

“And?” Nagisa said, magenta eyes wide.

“And whats the important thing?” Rei asked.

“That was it!”

“But that’s not important. Why should your sexuality be important?”

Blush stained Nagisa’s cheeks. He turned his gaze toward the floor and chewed on his lip. With a sharp intake of breath, he turned to Rei, “Because peoplemake it important, I guess?”

“I don’t think it’s important. You’re still Nagisa-kun regardless of who you want to love.”

“I guess so, even if its only boys I like?”

“That doesn’t change anything.”

Nagisa couldn’t contain his relief. With trembling legs, he leaned into Rei and hugged him tightly, babbling so quickly that the cerulean haired boy couldn’t make out most of what he was saying. They broke apart once he’d calmed down and Nagisa smiled up at Rei.

He returned the gesture, “Seriously, Nagisa-kun, did you really think I was going to judge you for loving boys?”

“I guess? Some people aren’t nice about stuff like that. Its only ever been boys, its never changed. I guess that those feelings are set in stone.”

“I wouldn’t say stone, maybe crystals or geodes. Love is raw like the ground, but its composed of so much more.”

Nagisa smiled up at Rei, “Like a diamond, or gold? Is that why wedding rings are made of those things then, Rei-chan.”

“Well, making a ring out of mud doesn’t exactly give off the same impression,” the blue haired boy laughed.

They continued on their journey home, discussing the possibilities of composing a wedding ring. Nagisa had suggested proposing with dummy sucker lollypops, with liquourice, Haribos and even onion rings or those American crisps that he’d buy from the supermarket in the city, Hula Hoops. Rei had claimed that surely an engagement ring needed more thought than candy or food. Love isn’t perishable after all. He declared that there was no way he would accept such an outrageous proposal and if someone were to ask him to marry them with food, he would have to be very invested in them to say yes.

No logical man would say yes to that.

But Nagisa had stopped listening, Rei had used gender-neutral pronouns. He recalled the sentence again and again, reciting Rei’s words in his head. Gender neutral pronouns meant maybe, just maybe, he had a chance!

He didn’t stop smiling until he got home.


End file.
